


The Last Cheese Bender

by Redrikki



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Aftermath of Genocide, Behold the Power of Cheese, Cultural Differences, Food, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:41:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25095526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Redrikki/pseuds/Redrikki
Summary: It was amazing just how much of Air Nomad cuisine had survived, but none of the other nations ate cheese. Aang was going to change that.
Relationships: Aang & The Gaang (Avatar)
Comments: 16
Kudos: 112
Collections: Eat Drink and Make Merry 2020





	The Last Cheese Bender

**Author's Note:**

  * For [guileheroine](https://archiveofourown.org/users/guileheroine/gifts).



> The Air Nomads are heavily based off of Tibetan culture and, unlike most Asian cuisine, they are super into dairy. Except for the fruit pies, which are based on canon, all dishes mentioned are based on real Tibetan foods. The cheese described here is known as chhurpi in Tibet. It looks and tastes kind of like ricotta cheese. Bon appetite.

The other nations didn’t really do cheese. They ate meat and fish and a bunch of other stuff, but no cheese. Aang had noticed it in his travels before the war. It had never really bothered him back when he could just go home and eat some, but, boy, did he miss it now.

It was amazing how much of Air Nomad cuisine had survived. When they’d stayed at the Northern Air Temple, the Earth Kingdom villagers there had served them spicy vegetable noddle soup that tasted exactly like he remembered. They’d even had steamed buns they called air bread that were just like the monks had made. People all across the Earth Kingdom ate the sort of fruit pies that he and Gyatso used to make together. No one put air bison butter in their tea, though, and they didn’t eat cheese. Aang was going to change that.

* * *

“What are you doing?” Katara frowned at him from the kitchen doorway. 

“Making cheese,” Aang said as he stirred to keep the milk from scalding. Ba Sing Se was the first time they’d had a kitchen and he meant to make the most of it. He kept a close eye on the pot. It needed to be near boiling but not actually boiling and he didn’t want it to overcook.

“What’s that?” Sokka asked as he and Toph popped up next to his sister.

“It’s a traditional Air Nomad dish.”

This wasn’t quite as traditional as it could be. It was supposed to be made with air bison milk, but, until he found some, he’d have to make do with wooly pig. The farmers in the agrarian district raised them for wool and meat, but it was amazing the things you could talk people into when you were the Avatar. The wooly pig hadn’t been too happy about being milked, but that was okay. Aang was great with animals who didn’t want him touching them. 

Little bubbles began appearing at the edges of the pot. Aang quickly used a touch of air bending to smother the flame before the milk could boil. He carefully added the vinegar to make the milk curdle. 

“Ugh,” Toph wrinkled her nose at the smell. “That stinks.”

“Yeah, but it tastes great!”

The others watched as he set up the strainer and separated the curds from the whey. The vinegar may not smell too good and all the stirring had made his arms ache, but it would be worth it. His friend would love it and Aang would finally have cheese again.

* * *

Aang set the bowl of cheese down on the table. Normally, it was supposed to sit for a few hours to dry before eating, but Sokka had whined so much about being hungry that Aang had used a little water bending to speed things up. They'd all been so eager to watch him make it, but now they hung back instead of digging in. 

“Help yourself, guys,” Aang said, scooping some curds onto his own plate.

He didn’t have to tell Sokka twice. He shoveled a fistful straight into his mouth like the whole fire flakes fiasco had taught him nothing. “Kinda bland,” he said, spraying bits all over the place, "but I like 'em."

“Ew, Sokka.” Katara wrinkled her nose at her brother’s antics, but that didn’t stop her from helping herself.

Toph pinched a curd between her chopsticks. “It’s squishy,” she said with a frown. “Is it supposed to be squishy?”

“Sure is!” Aang popped a curd into his mouth. He closed his eyes as he savored the mild, salty taste. It wasn't quite what he was used to, wrong milk after all, but he had missed it so much.

The squishiness was half of what made fresh cheese so great. Not that travelers’ cheese with it’s chalk-like consistency wasn’t pretty great too. They were differently great, is all. The one good thing about being stuck waiting in this stupid city for the next month was that Aang would actually have enough time to cure a couple of batches before they hit the road to fight the Fire Lord. Travelers’ cheese was the perfect snack. Way better than Sokka’s jerky.

Toph continued to look dubious even as she chewed. Aang tried not to take it personally. After all, foreign food wasn't for everyone. Just look at him with stewed sea prunes. 

“Thank you for sharing this, Aang,” said Katara. “Is this normally how it’s eaten?”

Aang shrugged. “Sometimes, but we’d have it stuffed in fried bread with cabbage too. Oh, and curried, and in sweet cakes,” he said, warming to the topic. Everyone’s eyes glazed over as he continued to rattled dishes off. Air Nomads didn’t do meat, but they had a million ways to eat cheese. 

“That’s great, Aang,” Katara said with a slightly pained smile once he wound down. “Why don’t you teach me your favorites and we’ll add them to the rotation.”

“Thanks, Katara,” Aang beamed at her. “You’re the best.” With her by his side, they’d bring back cheese in no time.

* * *

Three hours later, everyone but Aang was sick to their stomach. Turns out, there was a reason none of the other nations ate cheese. More for him then, but he’d prefer someone to share it with.


End file.
